The Old Wise Ones

I love old twisted gnarly trees, I have always felt they possessed some magic, a connection to another world.
This one stands guard in front of the barn, like an ancient sentry committed to the protection of the barn and its humans.

I look at the moss, the trailing vines, mushrooms, and other plant life that lives on this strong old hickory......I realize that the center, its heart is almost hollow and that someday in the future, mother nature will blow him down.......so that he might return to the soil that has nourished him all these years.

I took this picture this morning, then I sat on the ground beside the grand and wise creature........I felt the warm sun, and the early fall breeze....and I also felt connected, to every living thing around me.
I heard the birds, the rustle of the leaves, I smelled the earth, the growth as well as the decay........and I felt alive.  I suggest you find yourself a wise old tree this weekend, spend some time with him......you will learn good things.